


Monochrome Alternates

by PepperVix



Series: Monochrome [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-23 01:54:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17071241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PepperVix/pseuds/PepperVix
Summary: Just a bunch of alternate outcomes from Monochrome





	1. Alternate bar scene (chapter 9)

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate outcome where Undyne and Alphys Find Sans at Grillby's

“....................He came in rather late, hours ago now. I had tried to ask him what had happened, but all he’s answered with is ‘walks into a bar jokes.’” Grillby huffed, his aloof demeanor somewhat breached. 

“Do you know where he went!?” Alphys pleaded, guilt and anxiety more present in her than it had been in months. 

Undyne put a hand on her shoulder. “Chill,” She advised, eyeing the insides of the bar in something that resembled deeper concern, but basically annoyance near the surface.

“...Where he went?” The bartender sounded confused. Alphys could have cried out, but she kept her tears locked away to avoid shaming herself further. “No-no it seems we’ve had some sort of miscommunication-” Grillby was shaking his head “-He’s still here,” The flame informed her. Alphys’s pupils jumped to twice their size, Undyne snapped to attention, her eye ceasing its wandering to gape at the man. 

“Really?!” Alphys couldn’t help the childish exclamation that escaped her lips, too relieved to have finally found him after a whole hour of stopping the scant amount of people and monsters in pursuit of a satisfying answer. “Where is he?” she asked, looking every which way and finding no trace of the skeleton in question.

The bartender pointed to a back corner where the light was scarce. It was easy to forget about in the larger renovation of the former small business, thus her confusion. “I had planned to kick him out when the bar closed, but I didn’t have the heart seeing him try to,”

“H-Hey...” Alphys called softly as she spotted him upon closer inspection of the booth. He was sitting limply on the corner farthest from the edge of the cushioned seat, head rested in his arms on the table. His legs dangled from the seat, one foot idly tapping the floor. his shoes were munched and muddy, laces hanging as limply as the rest of him was. His clothing was no worse for wear, soaked and in some places torn. He didn’t even notice her until she called out again, tapping his shoulder. He didn’t pull away, but Alphys could feel how his shoulder braced, fighting the urge to do just that. Two piercing white pupils fell on her through the shadow of the hood.

“Hey there.” He replied in his usual lazy drawl. He stretched, popping the joints of his knuckles. There was a particular cautiousness in the way he did so, which led Alphys to derive he was paining himself in the process. 

Alphys slid into the booth, parking herself a comfortable distance away from the skeleton. “W-What-” Alphys swallowed nervously, eyes skimming him. Wow... He really looked like a mess… “What did Frisk do to you?” Alphys intended to ease into this conversation, to avoid the subject of Frisk. But out the words slipped anyway. What a dunce. Alphys winced, expecting him to tense up. But his form only relaxed some, leaning back against the seat, and letting out a light chuckle. The humor in the laugh wasn’t even missing --much to Alphys’s confusion.

“Messed me up real bad, bet she didn’t even notice I couldn’t fight back.” Sans sighed. “She’s a scatterbrain like that --that kid.” He nodded along to his own statement, cutting himself off only by a hacking cough that left his body shaking, left him wiping away the blood that had escaped his mouth with the cough. Alphys jumped a little, unsure of what to do to help him, settling for looking on in concern. Undyne twitched, Alphys could see the anger returning full force to her face. “’m fine, I’m fine,” Sans wheezed, waving them off. his clenched sockets opened hesitantly, the lights in his eyes flickering back on after several moments of radio silence. He was obviously not ‘fine’. 

Alphys felt a sob brewing in her chest, it came out like a hiccup. She covered her mouth to stifle it, more sobs escaping into her palm. Undyne was gaping like a--- well you know, and Alphys felt the unshed tears try to well up again. What had gone so wrong? Weren't they happy? Two of them were dead, the rest emotionally scarred, one of them was a serial killer --and here Sans was, his calm exterior violated, stolen from him. He looked like a wreck, and by all odds he should be a wreck. but he was holding together. After everything. Alphys thought happy endings were supposed to be ever-after, she wished she could stop it from slipping, bounding away from her… But it was already over. Those days were dead and buried and they were never coming back. Nothing would ever be the same again.

She hadn’t even noticed when Undyne had sat beside her, had started hugging her. She hadn’t even noticed the tears that had threatened to fall were currently fulfilling their promises.

“I’m-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be- you-you’re the one wh-who’s...” Alphys weeped, burying herself in Undyne’s embrace, trying to bury the selfishness away as well. But she knew it followed her everywhere, like it would be a part of her no matter how hard she tried to escape it. 

Alphys could see Sans clearer now that he had turned to regard her. His eyes were blank, but the lights were still on --looking at her eerily devoid of feeling for a second before they caught on again. 

“Ah, s’fine, really. Sometimes it hurts more inside than it does outside-y’know?” He reassured, chuckling nervously, playing with a phalange self consciously. He really didn’t like being seen like this. Weak, defenseless, prone, unable to protect himself. From a little kid no less... Alphys crumpled into Undyne, her thoughts too occupied on fighting the tears back to pay much attention to his mannerisms. “Then again…” Sans’ body started to tremble once more. “Ouch-” He winced, chuckling again to distract himself from the shudder running along his spine. It echoed in his skull and felt funny, eventually settling in the back where the hazy cloud was resting, fogging his attention span greatly. God... That was one mother of an ache, he hadn’t felt pain this severe since way back-- when Frisk got angrier than normal at his lack of precision in their fight… He’d sworn he could still feel the phantom pain when he woke up a week and a half earlier covered in sweat, and possibly haunted by the sensations to boot. Another wince, but this time it was from recalling the not-past. How could he let a kid do that to him? Was he really that weak? Pathetic really, poetic. This was all poetic, almost dream-like. Like the haze that he’d been fighting for awhile now, clouding the back of his skull making everything muddy and hard to focus on. 

“Sans… Y-You’re hurt..?” Alphys asked through sniffles, curious because it was unclear under the layers he purposely wore.

half of my ribs- broken. Both wrists, possible arm… might be some stab wounds… hard to tell if she actually used that thing. must’ve “‘m fine, nothing major,” Summed up perfectly. His broken ribs protested his statement boldly, throbbing and bleeding more of that sticky hot liquid. His possibly broken arm had something to say, along with the stinging of scratches adorning his tibia against the sharp air. He imagined them all - gathering in Sans square (Trash Central) to protest - holding signs and chanting their disagreement loud and clear so he couldn’t block them out if he tried. “Just peachy.” Sans followed up, just because the spinning Alphys didn’t look too convinced anymore. And-wow. There were three of her now, - six - they were saying something to him, they looked confused. But soon he couldn’t make out their expressions at all, the blur overtook him. Fortunately, as he could no longer hold up all those useless bones anymore, he leaned on his arm wrong. Mystery solved, it was broken. At least, now it was.

Alright, maybe there might not have been any intent to kill, but brute force wouldn’t be off the list of possible ways to die. If he died in this timeline… would it all be over? Did he? Want... to? “Promise” Was that… Frisk? “You made a promise for me too. You have to remember!” What was he supposed to remember…  
Too late… he couldn’t summon the strength to stay awake any longer.


	2. Alternate chapter 10 (deleted version)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yep. basically the one I deleted.

Sans’s room was in ruins as per usual, and the lump that confronted him was frustratingly familiar. Sans’ mattress was thrown haphazardly in the corner of the room, sheets clinging to the hunk of comfort loosely. The green comforter enveloped his brother, rendering him but a small potato in a vast field of fluffy bedding.

“Sans! Wake up! I have got something to show you!” Papyrus shouted indignantly. His brother was always napping at the worst times, Papyrus found himself having to wake him up whenever he would drift off inconveniently. He’d fall asleep in the middle of their games, Would fall asleep before he could help with Papyrus’ puzzles. He’d suddenly collapse sometimes when they’d spar.

“Mmmfff-” Sans groaned. The lump shifted away from Papyrus as he tried to uncover it from its cave.

“Come on Sans! You said you would help me with my magic today!” Papyrus whined, earning another blanket-muffled grumble. Papyrus pouted at his brother’s refusal. An idea sparked in his mind and he perked up suddenly, a conniving grin spreading across his face. He extended his hand confidently, his fingertips dancing with dull and weak magic. Sans’ soul grew heavy with blue, the lump that was his brother stilling promptly. Papyrus grasped the edge of the blanket and tore it away with a triumphant ‘Nyeh-heh-heh’.. Sans shot him a grumpy glare as his ability to struggle was abruptly stolen from him.

“Pappy…. Come on, ten more minutes?” Sans pleaded, already aware of the futility of his protests. 

“No Sans! I want to practice so that one day Asgore will let me into the royal guard!” Papyrus beamed.

“Can’t you practice in ten more minutes?” Sans grumped, face-planting himself into the bed - as the blue magic was novice and not exactly strong yet. “The royal guard ‘s not going anywhere…” He told the mattress, his words muffled by the sheets.

“NOT THAT YOU KNOW OF!” Papyrus objected, ripping Sans away from his bed with little help on his part.

“Noooooo….” He whimpered softly, his eyes already drooping closed even as he was pulled out onto the floor.

....  
They trudged through the snow, the cold slush slowly worming its way into Papyrus’ yellow rubber boots. The snow was harsh and cold this early in the day, the morning light not yet out. In fact, the air was still fresh with the night, and silence overtook the dreary town. Sans was lagging behind, leaving Papyrus to create his own path through the deep snow. 

“Sans!” He protested, when he heard the familiar nothing behind him. He turned around to find Sans buried in the snow, his chest rising and falling peacefully despite the snow that surrounded him.

“Wha-Oh… Sorry…” He murmured, after Papyrus had shaken him awake. He managed to drag himself up, not even wiping the freshly fallen snow off of his clothes and face. “Here-Papyrus-” He patted his brother’s shoulder with one mittened hand, motioning him to walk beside him. “You don’t mind if I...lean on you a little…” He smiled gently, making Papyrus groan. “Thanks bud,”

Sans shuffled through the snow gracelessly - having recovered from his laziness - leaving footprints for Papyrus to follow. He jumped when they became too far apart for him to step naturally. He shook the snow out of his boots, glad no more accumulated thanks to Sans’s lead. 

Eventually Sans’ footprints stopped, Papyrus bumped into him abruptly, letting out a small ‘umph’ of air. There was a small clearing spread out in front of them. The usual one, there were trees skirting the area and several of his bone attacks still lodged in the trunks from yesterday.

“Yikes, looks like they still haven’t dissipated.” Sans commented. Papyrus stuck his little ribcage out in pride, smiling broadly. “Pappy... “ Sans shook his head, chuckling slightly under his breath. Papyrus looked at him, confused about what he was so amused over. “N-nothing, nothing…” He waved him off, still chuckling.

“I betcha the royal guard couldn’t hold a candle to what my baby brother can do” Sans grinned down at him, “I’ve never seen anyone keep their magic summoned that long before,” Papyrus’ eyes shone as he did a little dance, kicking up snow in the process. “Really?!” He squeaked. 

“Really, really.” Sans confirmed, nodding profusely. Papyrus beamed, making Sans’s smile broaden fondly. He patted Papyrus’s head again making him squeal in protest. “You’re adorable Papyrus,” Sans informed him as he struggled to escape the attack, giggling and attacking his big brother back with a bear hug. “Ooof- H-heya! You got me, you got me!” Sans chuckled, hugging him back in a way that seemed affectionate --but he had been duped. Sans calculatingly shoved Papyrus to the ground, snorting as he landed in a heap of snow and indignant bones. “SANS!” Papyrus harrumphed. “No fair!”  
…...

Papyrus sighed, blinking the memory of his brother’s grinning face away. Dabbing the sweat from present day Sans’ skull with a damp towel. Worlds had been broken in the span of a month, and Papyrus had tried his best to remain great for all of his friends and fellow monsters. But It was considerably harder when he realized his brother was the fuel for his positivity, and without him it was hard to project comforting feelings to others. He was just grateful his soul didn’t crack, the injuries he had been dealt were reason enough, but he had pulled through. Granted, technically Alphys had said he shouldn’t be alive. Not because of the wounds, but because of his SOUL. She had said his soul was sick, said she needed to know if he took any kind of vital medication. Papyrus didn’t know of any. Alphys smashed her scanner. Said there must have been a mistake. She dropped the pieces on the table to fix later. Poor Alphys had fallen asleep sitting up on one of the chairs of three individual brands pulled up to their table. Undyne was rubbing circles into her back, muttering soothing words to her, keeping her dreams sweet. 

Papyrus wondered if Sans was dreaming. And if he was, if they were pleasant dreams. Twice since they had moved into their house on the surface he had awoken to a noise from across the hall. The first time had been a broken lamp, and an annoyingly familiar dog trying to flee the scene. The second was more impactful. It had been late, Sans had fallen off his bed and was staring dazedly at the ceiling, his blankets tangled around his legs. Papyrus had asked him why he was in such a ridiculous position --he’d replied with the simple two word response “Bad dream” Papyrus had to drag him back into his bed personally because he wouldn’t get up himself, tucking him in like a ragdoll. “Love you, Papyrus” Sans reminded him softly. “AS DO I, BROTHER.” Papyrus returned, a little confused. Sans’s smile had looked sadder that night.

It had been a few hours since they had returned, and Undyne was getting restless. She had abandoned soothing Alphys to pace around the kitchen and the living room. “Nyaa! How long are we just gonna sit here!” She complained finally after a few minutes of pacing methodically behind the couch.

“Until Sans wakes up.” Alphys’s nasally voice came from the table, still ripe with leftover sleep --which she was wiping from her eyes. 

“So what? We’re just gonna take a few naps till then?” Undyne groaned, “Maybe pace until half the town outside is empty and we’re the only ones left!” 

“There’s nothing you can do Undyne! It’s not our problem! We’ve got more pressing things to care for, it’s better to preserve the ones who are left than go out and get killed ourselves!” Alphys shouted, intent on keeping the remaining four alive. Toriel and Asgore were the first, they were already gone and it broke her heart just thinking of all the lives they’d touched, she didn’t want to lose anybody else! “Do you really plan on leaving me all alone Undyne?!” Alphys choked, feeling guilty at her slightly manipulating outburst, but it achieved its purpose; rendering Undyne speechless. 

“No… I wouldn’t… I didn’t mean…” Undyne was frowning, and she refused to look at her. “But, I couldn’t just leave them defenseless… If I can save even one life it’ll be worth it.” She nodded determinedly.

“I won’t let you leave. Not until Sans wakes up, he’s never been afraid to put you in your place, and you’ve never had the guts to ignore him.” Alphys growled. Undyne’s eyebrows rose, and she was about to utter her denial, but Alphys knew she’d hit her right at her weak spot. She was glad she had guessed correctly, because it was hard to find someone Undyne actually listened to, and she’d doubted there were many more than Gerson and Asgore. 

“What if he doesn’t wake up for days! Are we just gonna sit here and wallow until then?” Undyne’s growl faltered as she waved her hands around in exasperation, trying to ignore the blow done to her pride.

“I guess so!” Alphys moaned, running her hands down her face tiredly. 

“And what if he doesn’t wake up at all? Have you thought about that? What if Frisk got what she wanted, what if she’s finally ruined all of our lives for good!” Undyne snapped, making Alphys flinch.

“Yeah, maybe she did! So if there’s any chance Sans might wake up we should just give up on him because it doesn’t matter anyway!” Alphys yelled, jumping up from the table and fixing Undyne with an angry glare. 

“THERE’S NO NEED TO FIGHT!” Papyrus attempted to calm their obvious irritation, waving the rag around like it was a flag. “BESIDES, THERE’S NO REASON FOR WORRY! Sans will wake up…” Papyrus reassured. “He can’t just...“ Papyrus blinked the wetness from around his sockets, confused. “SANS CAN GET THROUGH ANYTHING! HE WOULDN’T JUST LEAVE US WHEN HE KNEW THAT I… WE NEED HIM. HE DIDN’T BEFORE, AND HE WON’T NOW!” Papyrus said more confidently. If he believed in anyone, he believed in his brother. And that's all he needed, if Sans couldn’t muster the will to wake up himself, The Great Papyrus would have to for him. 

“Of course Papyrus… I don’t - I don’t know why I said that…” Undyne shook her head, not realizing she had snapped at her own girlfriend until she was putting her back in her place. but there was still doubt there. Papyrus didn’t notice it. Alphys huffed through her nostrils, sitting back down in the chair she had jumped from to pick at the scanner again. Undyne stood stock still for a moment longer before joining her, murmuring a soft apology and offering to help.

Papyrus nodded his approval, glad to resolve any conflicts with reassurance. Surely Undyne didn’t mean what she’d said, Alphys said Sans’s wounds weren't that bad… Papyrus’s eyes wandered back to his brother. The blanket Papyrus had wrapped him in had fallen past his shoulders and Papyrus could see the bandages. The bandages that were laden with red, red he had never personally known could come from a skeleton, but knew it wasn’t good nonetheless. He fretted over them, re-wrapping his arm with fresh bandages and daring to peek at the carnage his ribcage was. Papyrus had broken a rib once, it had taken a month to heal, and weeks of tenderness after that for it to stop being sore. But Sans was so small, Papyrus wondered who he could have inherited it from, but his brother had always tired out quickly. He was always expeditious to dodge most anything that could do him harm. Though his brother could take a few hits, he generally avoided taking any at all. Papyrus hadn’t hit him once himself, not even Undyne that one time she had tried to test his sentry skills with a ‘surprise attack’. But the breaks on the links of his ribs and the deep maroon stains on the clean jacket Papyrus had procured from his room spoke wonders on his ability to dodge an attack now. The scanner had picked up something truly worrying...

A sharp knock made him yelp and fumble with the blanket in his grasp, covering Sans snuggly once he managed to regain his wits. Undyne and Alphys shot him nervous and warning glances as he approached the door, willing him to be cautious. Papyrus took heed of their warnings, bending to peek through the peephole to confirm the knocker’s identity. He caught sight of big, broad shoulders, and a tall stature. He didn’t catch much more than that, the considerable bulk of the man was far too big to fit in the confines of the peephole. A familiar badge was clipped on his unfastened suit jacket, one that Papyrus had seen on multiple occasions - but still couldn’t attach a name to the wearer. Either way, the sight of a familiar entity he knew was safe caused him to release the tension from his shoulders in relief, the tension belonging to the household following suit.

“Who is it Papyrus?” Undyne asked, now that it had been unspokenly assumed it was not the very person she had in mind.

“It’s one of Sans’s guards I think. The one who’s always peering down at everybody.”

“Oh, that one.” Undyne nodded knowingly, Alphys snorted some half-hearted laughter, seeming to know exactly what Papyrus was talking about. At some point it became one of multiple of Sans’s mean spirited in-jokes, Papyrus couldn’t believe his unsympathetic behavior sometimes.

“Well open the door! Maybe the police can help. And hey, if they can’t, nobody can really stop them from doing so anyways - with an excessive amount of force and stubbornness.” Undyne prompted, sliding away from the table to join Papyrus at the door as another knock was administered. 

Papyrus swung the door open zestily. “Hello mister policeman, am I correct in assuming you’ve come to check if we have evacuated as of now? Papyrus asked.

The man’s stoic expression remained in its intimidating position, bringing a nervous sweat to Papyrus’s brow. “I’m afraid I’m not here on standard police duties.” He said, not bothering to explain again that he was actually from a separate organization working in league with the police. “I’ve come to confirm the whereabouts of Mr. Serif.” He informed. 

Papyrus snerked, momentarily lost in shock. The guard quirked an eyebrow. “Did Sans say that was his surname?” Papyrus balked. 

“The client.” The man replied tightly, electing to ignore Papyrus to save face. Alphys had buried her face in her hands, laughing, or perhaps sobbing in them. Needless to say, Sans’s muckery is something none of them needed at this moment.

Undyne scowled, generally disgusted. “He’s sleeping on the couch,“ Undyne informed him as he entered, dusting off his pristinely ironed suit. “He won’t wake up, though.” Undyne added as the man neared the prone skeleton anyway. “We’ve been trying to-” 

A taser was pressed against his brother’s side before he had a chance to react. 

“Sans!” Three voices yelled in immediate succession.

The buzz of electricity was perfectly loud, along with Papyrus’s forlorn screech as he tried to pull the officer away from him. The officer relented quick enough, sliding the taser back into a concealed loop attached to his belt. Sans had reacted sluggishly in his sleep, his sockets shooting open as he fell off the couch and rolled onto the floor with a disoriented and frazzled yelp. “I was told to administer discipline in the event the client try to escape.” The man said in a gruff voice, his emotions concealed thoroughly. 

“From who!?” Undyne objected loudly.

Everyone else remained in shocked silence at the officer’s explanation. But when Sans’s tormented groan came from the floor it broke the spell of disbelief in a second. “Jesus…. Why'd Ya do that…?” He moaned, his voice raspy and laced with exhaustion. Sans must have missed the memo, but the guard did not repeat himself.

Papyrus immediately dropped to his level, “YOU’RE AWAKE!” Papyrus proclaimed in delight. “SEE UNDYNE? IT WAS JUST LIKE I TOLD YOU!” Papyrus turned to the baffled pair - both now hovering over the scene - smiling broadly. 

“Well, he didn’t exactly have a-oof!” A scaly elbow driven into Undyne’s side immediately put a stop to that idea. 

“Awake…? Did I-” Sans winced suddenly, a cough interrupting the thought, and Papyrus was sure he wasn’t going to finish the sentence either when the coughing continued. When it finally ended it left everyone’s face twisted in a grimace.

Sans shot them all a look, wiping his mouth inconspicuously. Only Papyrus saw the red stain left behind on his jacket later when he was washing it.

Sans was trembling in Papyrus’s grip now, his whole body practically fighting him to collapse. It hurt Papyrus to watch him try to feign stability, when he was clearly aching to lie down again. Papyrus slung an arm around his shoulders to help him, they shared a glance between them before Sans let him carry some of his weight.

“W-Where’s Prich?” Sans asked, his gaze flickering upward to the guard.

“He’s gone.” The guard supplied him.

“Gone where? I need my... “ He coughed. “My uh, you k-know…” Sans glanced at the floor nervously, arousing Papyrus’s curiosity quite thoroughly. 

“You will be administered them when we arrive at the station, they will replace your collar and ankle brace and lock you up in solitary confinement for up to three days.” 

“Great, I’m glad you’ve got your priorities straight,” Sans snorted.

“Just be grateful you didn’t get off any worse, your antics never cease to amuse the higher-ups.” The man responded, “I’m glad someone's enjoying it, it thrills me to no end, surely.” 

“Hey, Prich’ laughed!” Sans retorted halfheartedly.

“Get up. We’re leaving.” He ordered coldly, straightening his tie.

“Now?!” Alphys yelped, recovering from her awkwardness.

“Just you hold on a second!” Undyne managed, regaining her boldness that she had unfortunately lost in a river of dumbfoundment earlier. “You can’t just go tasering him out of a coma and expect him to spend three days in a dirty cell with no access to medical care!” Undyne accused, storming over to the unaffected officer. “Isn’t that against some kind of human law or something?” She hissed, gesturing to a now baffled Sans frantically. “Can’t you see he’s injured?” 

“A coma lasts for an indefinite period of time, So I did no such thing. And I hadn’t noticed anything too out of the usual. Where did Sans gain these injuries you speak of?” The guard asked, peering down at Undyne - an unusual occurrence in and of itself - in a manner that exuded complete composure and control. 

“Where!?” Undyne shouted. “It was from that fucking murderer! He’s lucky he even got off alive!” Undyne poured her anger in unnecessarily, making it seem as though it were directed at the man above her.

“I’m sure if the client has been injured we could make a visit to the nurse for some antibiotics, before he has to complete his temporary custody,” He informed. “I will place a call to the station, but if the injuries are any less than severe, your standards should remain low.” He continued even as Undyne’s face contorted in rising indignation.

She was about to voice her qualms, but Papyrus butted in worriedly. “I CAN ASSURE YOU THEY ARE QUITE SEVERE!” Papyrus drew Sans’ jacket up to reveal his marred and bloody ribs for proof, eliciting a squeak from the latter as he struggled to maintain his modesty -even if he was a skeleton and the very idea was somewhat amusing. Alphys squeaked too, either out of childish embarrassment or horror, looking away for one, or both of those reasons.

The guard’s eyes lingered in mild surprise as Sans finally managed to stave off Papyrus and pull his sweater back down. “I suppose we can consider an extension, or at least someone who can properly wrap a wound,” He muttered, the walls of his layered composure reasserting themselves. Undyne grinned widely, for some reason taking that as a victory. “I just have to place a call, pardon me a minute.” He said, meeting Undyne’s eye as she stared daggers at him.

“Woah, I didn’t realize these things had to be peer reviewed.” Sans drawled, earning a groan off his comrades, and an unrestrained glare from the antagonized man.

 

“You’re pushing it, you know, I could’ve done worse after your little “disappearing” act,” He even used air quotes and everything. Sans couldn’t tell if it was a threat or a joke.  
………..

“Summon your magic for me,” Alphys asked. She had his arm outstretched, it was starting to throb the more she had him hold it up, and he had just about lost the feeling in it.

“Yeah, yeah, would you-” Sans yelped as she tethered the sensor to his soul without warning. “Now that's not very professional-”   
“I don’t get it!” Alphys fumed, hitting the display screen frustratedly. “This was supposed to be fixed! There’s no way the extra settings I added to it didn’t work!” She was tapping buttons on it, her eyes skimming the display in rising exasperation. “I mean, granted, I was half asleep during some of it, but I was sure I had it right!”

“What's wrong with it?” Sans asked, giving up on trying to get her to acknowledge him, and resolving to just humor her.

“It keeps showing the wrong HP, I’ve reset it twice, and I rebuilt it entirely, but it still won’t change from the default variable!” Alphys huffed, “Whatever, we’ll just check the magic output-” She clicked a few more buttons tutting in annoyance. “Hopefully this thing doesn’t give me any false stats on that setting too,” She seemed to look at him for the first time in minutes, “-Hey didn’t I tell you to summon your bullets?”

“Yes Doc,” He sighed, following her instructions to the barest of his capacity. The screen of her silly little device lit up blue, and Alphys rose an eyebrow.

“You don’t use magic too often, do you?” She smiled. Sans followed suit, glad he could snap her out of her preoccupied daze.

“What else does that sensor detect?” He chuckled. She was silently snickering as she scrolled down the screen. “Ey, what's so funny?” Sans tried to peek at what she was looking at, but she pulled it away from him mischievously. “Oh, I bet you’re real proud of yourself,” Sans shook his head.

“Your attack names are so dramatic!” Alphys finally relented, letting him see. “Look at this: “Gaster Blaster”” She said the name of his favorite attack with a deeper foreboding voice. 

“So I take it my magic output is all in order then?” He huffed, “Didn’t know that thing would detect the farthest stretches of my soul, a bit intrusive if you ask me.”

“Your attack names are that important to you?” She snorted.

“What are you two nerds up to?” Undyne piped up from the couch, flicking through the channels on the T.V. All the local channels were up to the same thing, but the amount of coverage was close to being exhausted at this point.

“We’re supposed to be doing a medical checkup,” Sans rolled his eye-lights. 

“Hey Undyne? I wanna try something, c’mere,” Alphys asked. Her tone instantly made Sans’ soul-rate increase. (That's monster for heart-rate)

“Uhh, Okay,” Undyne clicked a button and the news channel she was watching shut off.

Alphys untethered the device from his soul. A nervous sweat ran down his skull. He had certainly heard “it must be malfunctioning” before now. 

“I just wanted to see what your attack stats were,” Alphys connected the scanner to Undyne’s soul. Sans’s breathing suddenly stopped working. 

“Oh.” That was all it took.

“Oh?” He prompted nervously.

“I-I thought the baseline variable was glitched…”

“What are you talking about Alphy?” Undyne snorted, “I thought you fixed that,” 

“W-Well I thought I had too, but it didn’t change anything when I powered it on again,” She was running her hand along her head spines, clicking a few buttons and presumably switching the setting on it. “Oh dear,” She chuckled anxiously.

Undyne wrenched the device from her hands, trying to gauge what the lizard was concerned about. “There’s nothing different! It’s just 1500, like it usually is,” Alphys was shooting Sans a disturbed look. 

“B-But it doesn’t work on Sans’s soul!” Alphys tore the scanner back, and Sans winced as it reattached itself to him. “See??!” Alphys frowned, giving the display screen a good smack for emphasis.

“Man… That is spooky…” Undyne shivered. 

“A haunted scanner,” Sans whistled, glad his stats were so unbelievable, even when proof was presented they continued to be skeptical.

“But I don’t understand! Why only you? Is it- but- It could just be because…” Alphys readjusted her glasses, rubbing her eyes tiredly. “Maybe it's just your soul type, it could just be a little unique, and- and- my scanner just can’t pick up the right readings-!” 

“May-be,” Sans hummed.

“Or maybe… It could just… be you?” His soul spiked again. They shared a glance. “Naw… Th-that's... “ She sighed, “A stupid thought,” 

……………………..………..

So far there hadn’t been any more murders, but the police had shown up to guard their house. They had decided against locking him up, the unstable environment of their town had all their troops rushing around evacuating people, literally, the whole town and surrounding suburbs had been drained of any life once there. Undyne paced. She paced quite a lot. Along with constantly watching the news like a hawk. Sometimes she’d bicker with Alphys or complain to nearby guards. 

Sans spent a lot of time in his room. Undyne often wondered if he’d locked the door or if he’d left it unattended. There was no real way of knowing because nobody entered his room. Papyrus knocked. Papyrus spoke through the door. Papyrus left meals. None of the guards (there were three) bothered him. He had antibiotics every morning, Undyne peered at him dubiously, pointing it out. 

“Why do you think we’re still here,” He whispered.

“They’re keen on torturing us,” Undyne whispered back.

“If you leave, I’ll come with you,” Sans leaned in closer, muttering it almost silently. 

Undyne’s brow rose in temporary surprise. “What about Alphys?” She hissed.

Sans didn’t reply after that, inconspicuously swallowing down a mouthful of eggs. 

Later she found out that he did, in fact, lock his door. She knocked on it softly, cringing because nobody went in sans’s room. This was sure to look suspicious to anyone that noticed. She didn’t knock again, and it took a good many minutes for any change to occur. Finally, Sans cracked the door open, blinking against the light filtering in from the hall. “What?”

“Let me in. I need to speak to you,” Undyne murmured. Sans heaved a sigh, waving her in. 

Undyne couldn’t see an inch in front of her face it was so dark. She sought out the lightswitch, flipping it on. Sans winced again, his sockets clamping shut. Used bandages were strewn about the floor, and dirty clothes were hanging from his bed frame and dresser. 

“I haven’t gotten the chance to clean it,” Sans muttered a response, plopping down on the bed. The sheets were untucked like he’d been sleeping in them recently. “So what is it, that you ‘need to speak to me’ about,” 

“What do you think!? It’s about earlier, what you said about leaving,” Undyne began to pace again. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Sans replied. 

“Oh cut the act, you talked about escaping,” 

“Escaping?” Sans scoffed. “Who exactly do you think is imprisoning you here?” Sans pointed to his collar, chucking a little. “They can’t do that, y’knew that, right?” he grinned. Undyne hadn’t really thought it through that much.

Undyne slept on the couch that night restless.


End file.
